| Keywords |
Haenyeo ; Ageing ; Diving suit ; Cold tolerance ; Behavioral temperature regulation |
| Abstract |
The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in thermal adaptive properties for the elderly haenyeos by a questionnaire and a local cold tolerance test. We carried out an one-on-one questionnaire in Jeju, Korea. A total of 112 hanyeos (68±8 yr in age) and 177 haenyeos (66±8 yr) participated in the survey. The questionnaire in the main survey consisted of 37 questions related to demographic characteristics (3 questions), diving practices and diving suits (12 questions), and behavioral temperature regulation and thermal tolerance (22 questions). As a local cold tolerance test, finger cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) at 4oC were measured during 4oC cold water immersion for old haenyeo (N=3) and young female (N=12) groups. The results showed that the elderly haenyeos felt warmer in summer and colder in winter when compared to their own twenties. However, haenyeos considered themselves as the one who sweats more and being more sensitive to heat in summer compared to the similar aged of older non-women divers, whilst they perceived being less sensitive to cold than other older non-women divers. For the finger CIVD test, the eldelry haenyeo group showed higher minimum finger temperature and faster peak time which indicate greater local cold tolerance when compared to the young female group. In summary, the elderly haenyeos identified themselves to have weaker cold tolerance compared to their twenties, but greater self-identified cold tolerance than other aged nonwomen divers, and greater local cold tolerance than young females. |